


One day

by Cissmoll



Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 08:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2302979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cissmoll/pseuds/Cissmoll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The visions didn't give her the power to change the future. All they did was to give her the opportunity to watch him die, over and over again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One day

Sometimes, Lightning wondered if her visions were some sort of strange gift from Etro. Other times, she wondered if they were just a cruel joke created by the universe itself. The visions always warned her of what was about to happen, but she could never get there in time to change time's course. She always tried, though. Even though she knew she couldn't save him, she always tried.

The visions didn't give her the power to change the future. All they did was to give her the opportunity to watch him die, over and over again.

Lightning forced her way out of Valhalla and through the Historia Crux as soon as she got the vision. This time, she arrived in the Academia headquarters just as the shot went off.

“Hope!” she yelled, rushing towards the source of the sound. She found Alyssa, Hope's traitorous assistant, holding a smoking gun in her hands. Hope was lying on the floor, pressing his hands against a bleeding wound in his stomach. Before Lightning could reach her, Alyssa pulled the trigger a second time, placing a bullet in Hope’s chest.

“No!” Lightning screamed, her gunblade materializing in her hand.

Alyssa turned around, staring at Lightning in shock. “Who are you? How did you get h-“

She never got to finish her sentence. With one smooth movement, Lightning let her blade pierce Alyssa's heart. The first time she'd killed Hope's assistant, she'd felt guilt and remorse. Now, it didn't even bother her. In every timeline, Alyssa would sooner or later try to kill Hope – and most of the time, she succeeded. Even though Lightning could understand the girl’s self-preservation, she still despised her from the bottom of her heart.

She pushed Alyssa's dead body out of the way so she could get to Hope. She sat down next to him and pulled him up on her lap, letting his head rest on her thighs.

“Stay with me, Hope,” she said, sending cura spells into his chest. “Please, stay with me.”

It was too late, of course – she was always too late – but she still had to try. She always had to try.

“Light...?” Hope whispered. “Is that you?”

“Yeah, it's me.” Lightning tried to fake a smile, but tears were already blurring her vision.

“Am I dreaming? Are you... Real?”

“I'm real,” Lightning assured, even though she wasn't entirely convinced herself. “I'm here, Hope. I'm finally here.”

Hope raised his hand, gently caressing her cheek. “I never stopped looking for you.”

“I know. I saw it.” She placed her hand on top of his. “I could see everything.”

Hope coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His skin was getting paler and his eyes were losing focus. Lightning let out a quiet sob. He was leaving her again, and it hurt just as much as always.

“I'm dying, aren't I?” Hope said, his voice barely audible. “I finally found you, and now I'm dying. How... Unfair...”

His hand dropped from her face as he lost the power to hold it up. He coughed again. His once white uniform was turning red, stained by the blood leaking from the bullet holes in his chest and stomach. Lightning knew he didn't have long, and in a way, she was grateful for it. In some timelines, he would suffer for hours before death would finally claim him. Quicker was better, even if it meant she would get less time with him. After he'd drawn his final breath, she would be the only one in pain. He would be free.

“There's... There's different timelines, right?” Hope said. “There has to be timelines where I... Where I don't die.”

Lightning nodded, tears rolling down her cheek. Hope would often come to this realization in his last moments. He was always brilliant, even when he was dying.

“And there has to be timelines... Where we're... Together.”

Lightning nodded again. “I haven't found one yet, but when I do, I won't let anything stop me from making it the true one. One day, we'll be together again. All of us. I promise.”

Hope smiled faintly, closing his eyes. “We'll be together.”

Lightning continued to hold him after his heart stopped. She'd held his lifeless body countless of times before, but it never stopped hurting. She cried openly, allowing the grief to take over her mind. Soon, Etro would call her back to the endless shores of Valhalla. Those short moments in the realm of the living were the only times Lightning was allowed to mourn.

“I'll find a timeline where you don't have to die,” she whispered. “I'll find a way to save you, even if it's the last thing I ever do.”

She pressed a kiss to his forehead before getting up from the floor. The goddess was summoning her, forcing her back to the crystal throne. _One day, I will save you_ , she thought, looking back at Hope one final time. _One day, we'll be together._

 

 

 


End file.
